Even though it has a pixelated art style, there is a shocking amount of detail in every area, complete with dynamic lighting effects. They really knocked it out of the park with the art design. However, it’s not all disappointments when it comes to the finished product. I’m not sure what happened, but if I had to guess, I’d say once again that they probably ran out of time and money, and opted for ease instead. It’s like they forgot to include those elements in the main game. There were only one or two puzzles in the remainder of the game and the stealth mechanic only popped up for half a screen in one section. By the end it felt almost like a visual novel. The main game is five Acts long, and each Act plays like a linear point-and-click adventure.

Unfortunately, the rest of the game played nothing like the prologue. I bet you’re cheaper than my therapist too. That’s some deep insight for an animatronic fish. From what I experienced in the prologue, I was expecting Backbone to be an astounding game. The stealth sections added a bit of tension and the puzzles, while not difficult by any stretch, were fairly clever. None of it was particularly hard, but each of those gameplay elements complimented each other beautifully. In it, there was a fantastic mix of point-and-click action, light puzzles, and stealth. The prologue was developed first and was used as their playable demo.

The gameplay is another area that baffles me. So for the time being, even though I enjoyed the ride, I was left feeling unsatisfied. In that case, a cliffhanger would be exciting, but as of right now, there’s no word on if there will be another installment. I wouldn’t mind this so much if it ended with a “to be continued”, or if the developers had announced upfront that this was going to be an episodic game. It simply ends rather abruptly, with hardly any of the numerous story threads being wrapped up. I bet they have some great hole-in-the-wall food joints though. Each area has it own distinct feel, like the poverty-stricken Labor District.

Backbone game steam